Oh... this sounds similar.

[Jayrin]

"Hey, look at me! Mommy, look at me!" A child screamed loudly, sitting on my back. I hated this. He was just a toddler, but what if he broke my tail off? Or my ear? Or if he broke my back?

"Ronnie, get back over here!" I heard his mother exclaim angrily. "Don't sit on the statues! You will break them! Don't pull on them either! Ronnie! Get away!"

The boy got off of me, and had run off to play with the other statues. Yes, you heard me and the woman right. I was a statue, and there were more of us. There was a whole field of us. I was a cat, standing atop the stone clothes and staff of a wizard who was once standing in my place. You may think me a big, nasty cat... like a zarrak... but no. I was a common pet-sized cat. Small and insignificant, but the children loved me.

The sun began to rise over the horizon and I wanted to smile. It was so pretty... and the others would soon be talking. I didn't really rest during the night, or much at all. I was always thinking... usually it was about how to break the curse that turned me and this whole army into stone.

[Ikuar]

I sat there every day with a canvas, every day I would come and look at the pretty figures that appeared around the area, it was all I could see. But when I went to touch and communicate I couldn't, I could speak but I couldn't feel them. I was always stumbling around, no one saw me as a threat because I was blind. I felt for my quill and snatched it up off of the rock next to me, sketching what I saw.

I never knew how my sketches turned out, and the only shapes I knew were the ones of the figures I saw in this area. I never saw them anywhere else.

"It's beautiful today isn't it?" I said out loud, "The breeze is lovely."

"Who is she talking to?" a child asked.

"I don't know, come away from her though..."

I smiled though, I was always pretty happy. "I think it might rain later, it feels moist..." I heard people talking about me but I ignored it and went back to my canvas, trying to sketch a picture of a girl holding some arrows. She was pretty.

[Jayrin]

That girl. She seemed blind, but she was always drawing. What was with her? I always watched her and wished I could lay down and get off of my tired paws. She was so pretty and well kept for a blind girl though. Or was she blind? She acted like it. But anyway, she was... kind of short for a human. And she was slender, though not without her female curves. She always kept her dark brown hair in this really complicated braid. I wondered how she did that. And her eyes were interesting too. Always unfocused, but they were an orange color. They were strange, but pretty.

"Watching the pretty lady again, Julius?" I heard Marcus say. His tone implied a grin. "You're just a cat... and a statue at that. You've got no chance."

"Shut up, Marcus. I know." I replied, a bit irritated. "At least I'm not caught red-handed in stone. I told you that some day, you'd be caught looking at Adelle's butt."

"H-Hey! It was... it was just going to be for a second!"

[Ikuar]

I always tried to talk to them even though they wouldn't answer me, I just smiled and kept talking anyway while I sketched what I was seeing. I was sketching Adelle today, she was gorgeous and had long dark hair... and her eyes were blue in color but still they all seemed so faded. Near her were too men. One was Julius and he was quite handsome striking features like his green eyes and blond hair which was short. I drew him most often. Markus had a short pony-tail... and his eyes were gray.

But yes, I was drawing Adelle.

"I suppose it's silly for me to be talking to you... You neither feel the rain nor the breeze." I stated softly, "But you have voices, I know because you talk about me sometimes. But there's no difference... everyone say something."

"What a peculiar girl... someone should put her in a home."

I had feelings, I just hid them all the time. I never cried.

[Jayrin]

I looked back to the girl. "Ah! She can hear us?!"

"I always thought she seemed to be right on target with whatever topic we would speak of."

I watched her closely. "You can hear us?"

Adelle sighed. "Of course she can't! How could she hear us?! We're just spirits now. She's no magic user, and Marcus, stop staring at my butt!"

"I can't! I'm frozen this way!"

"Your spirit isn't!" She frowned.

[Ikuar]

"I've always heard you. Adelle, Marcus and Julius are your names... Adelle you just told Marcus to stop looking at your bottom..." I continued to sketch although I wasn't certain that it was turning out very well for I couldn't see it. I looked back at them with a smile, "You are the only images I've ever been able to see... pretty, talking figures..." I waved and then heard more comments about myself. They were getting worse and stung a little more each time.

[Jayrin]

I smiled some and waved. Of course, my statue did nothing. "So you are blind... that's what I thought... but how can you see us? We're just statues to the people here."

Adelle looked up at the girl. "Young lady, what does Julius look like to you?"

Marcus stared at her. "Addy, what kind of question is that?"

[Ikuar]

I smiled to them, they were questioning me quite a bit now and I liked it although people were starting to say more and more and I felt overwhelmed by all the voices coming at me.

"Julius has blond hair and green eyes, he's quite tall and his features are striking." I said, "He's faded though, much like the rest of you."

[Jayrin]

I looked back to Adelle, and she looked shocked.

"So... you don't see a cat then..." She said softly.

"No, because I'm not actually a cat!" I frowned at her.

"But... there's no way that girl can use magic! How can she see us?!"

"I don't know, but don't talk like she can't hear you. That's rude." I frowned and crossed my arms. "Wait..." I looked back to the girl. "We're fading?!"

"Fading? Fading? Is fading a bad thing?" Marcus asked quickly.

[Ikuar]

"Y-You aren't fading... you are just..." I couldn't find the word to describe what was going on with them. It was just that they could be seen through slightly. "I can... say you aren't solid images." I got up and walked over to Adelle with my canvas to show her what I drew. "I don't know what this looks like."

[Jayrin]

Adelle was smiling. "Oh, I look good! You should see this, Julius!"

Marcus nodded. "Yep, it's really good!"

"I can't walk over there, guys." I frowned. None of us could move from our statues. It was... very irritating to say the least. "But I'm sure it looks nice." I thought about what she meant. Spirits were usually see-through, but... what if we really were fading? Some of the other, older soldiers than us had faded away years ago.

[Ikuar]

I started to walk over to Julius when I tripped on something I couldn't see and fell flat. I began to panic, only because I was scared that I wouldn't be able to get back up or that something else would catch me off guard. I couldn't find my canvas, I couldn't feel it. I staggered around and heard more people saying things and then I just lost it.

"STOP! Stop talking about me!" I snapped, "I'm not deaf, I'm blind! I can hear you!" I sobbed, "Just stop it!" I felt around frantically for my canvas and finally touched the edge of it. I still had to show Julius.

[Jayrin]

I frowned, wishing I could help her. "Just ignore those people. They're stupid and they can't see past their own noses." I said wish a soft smile. "And yes, that's your canvas. Move your hand just a bit lower and you'll be able to grasp it. "And no, you didn't fall in mud. Just a bit of dust, but you don't look dirty."

[Ikuar]

Julius was making me feel better. I did as I was told and got my canvas back in my hands before standing up and walking carefully to him, holding up the page, "It... it looks like Adelle?" I asked softly. "I'm sorry, I got scared..."

[Jayrin]

"It's alright. Those people are just mean and they deserve to be in the dungeon." I look at the page and smiled. "Ah, yes, it looks exactly like her. You have a real talent." I said softly. "It's a very beautiful drawing."

[Ikuar]

"Oh, thank you." I reached out to touch him but I couldn't feel, I was so curious about them and I wanted to help them because they always seemed so stressed out and miserable. "What can I do?" I asked, "Can I do something?"

"What could she possibly do? So she's good at art and she can see us but other than that she's completely blind." A voice came and I looked up and saw a woman's spirit, she looked at me strangely.

"Lighten up, Viann. You've been trapped here for so long that you have lost sight of hope." A man was standing near her, he looked like he loved her and I could just tell because he kept smiling at her despite her sad face.

"I'm sorry, I'm so tired of being here... I don't want to get my hopes up, love."

[Jayrin]

I shook my head sadly. "Unless you can turn my staff back, there's not much you can do."

Adelle was frowning. "You and your staff! The way you speak, I'd almost think it was alive!"

Ah, Adelle. She was a warrior... not a scholar. "It is alive." I replied.

Marcus nodded emphatically. "Adelle, you haven't seen that thing in action! It's amazing!"

[Ikuar]

"I can see it." I said to them, "I can see the staff, it's got... this kind of glow like you do..." I wanted to reach and touch it but I didn't think that Julius would want me to. Viann and Gill were still talking, she'd mentioned his name once or twice. Something about them screamed that they were in love, it was precious. <3

[Jayrin]

The lovers... were acting like lovers again. >.<

I sighed though and looked back to the girl. "You can?" I asked, a little startled. "T-Try touching it!" I said eagerly. I was getting excited.

"Julius, that's rude! Telling a girl to touch your staff!" Adelle exclaimed.

"Only you would think of it that way, Adelle!"

I looked back to the girl. "Ah, just ignore her." I smiled a little.

[Ikuar]

I hesitated for a moment and then reached for it. I touched it and suddenly it didn't feel like stone and just came into my hand. I was holding the staff! I gasped and could still the aura around it, obviously magical.

"Wh-What do I do with it?"

Gill and Viann were watching me curiously.

[Jayrin]

I stared at her for quite some time. "Uh-Um... close your eyes, and focus on the five of us... and think of how much you don't want us to be stone anymore, and you want us to be flesh and blood!" I was scared it wouldn't work, but it was worth a try... especially if my staff responded to her.

"Julius, are you sure that will work?"

"Be quiet and let her focus, Addy!" Marcus snapped.

[Ikuar]

I stood up slowly and started to say what he told me to after focusing on them. So basically I was turning them back to normal... I felt the staff vibrate a little bit and a jolt of energy flew out of me. Everything went out of focus and I passed out.

[Jayrin]

I felt my spirit being pulled back into my body, and then I felt as the stone fell away from my body. I shook it off and looked to see the others doing the same, while other statues turned to dust. Their spirits were long gone. I looked back to the girl and ran to her, stumbling a bit, still getting used to walking as a cat. I patted her face with my paw. "Girl?"

I looked back at Marcus and Adelle who were kissing. I mean, just... outright kissing. And Viann and Girl were doing the same. ._.

I nudged her cheek with my nose. "Wake up! Girl, wake up!"

[Ikuar]

Girl, wake up, Girl!

I felt someone nudging my face and I opened my eyes but it was all dark like usual. I blinked and reached up to feel and it was all soft and fuzzy. "Julius... what on... happen..ed...?" I was so weak, I wanted to cry even though I never cried.

[Jayrin]

"I'm a cat." I said softly, rubbing against her hand because I found it felt good. "I was turned into one right before the curse. Are you okay? That probably took a lot out of you. I'm glad you're alive."

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